April 1, 2013 - During the kickoff for Community Development Week at the Volunteer Ministry Center, the University of Tennessee College of Social Work / Knoxville Homeless Management Information System (KnoxHMIS) released their annual study regarding homelessness in Knoxville.

Some of the highlights from the KnoxHMIS report are as follows:

During
2012,
there
was
a
14%
decrease
in
the
number
of
individuals
new
to
homelessness
in
Knoxville.
Individuals
seeking
services
for
the
first
time
dropped
from
3,264
in
2011
to
2822
this
year.
Strikingly,
this
figure
represents
a
36%
decrease
since
a
peak
in
2010
of
4,394.

The
picture
is
somewhat
different
for
active
clients1
a
total
of
9,388
individuals
accessed
homeless
services
from
KnoxHMIS
partner
agencies2.
This
figure
represents
a
4%
increase
from
2011
(9,023).
Chronically
homeless
individuals
represented
20%
of
all
active
clients.
On
average,
4,462
active
clients
sought
services
each
month
from
KnoxHMIS
partner
agencies.

39%
were
female

30%
were
reported
to
have
a
disability

33%
of
those
reporting
a
disability
were
classified
with
mental
health
problems